Freelander Transmission Problems

I have an '02 Freelander with 34,000 miles.The transmission was replaced under warranty in April 05 and it is being replaced once again now.

I called Land Rover US corporate asking if they could provide some sort of extended warranty on the transmission as it is highly unlikely that the transmission went twice without some sort of problem wiht the truck that would cause it to go again.

I was told that since I have not frequented the dealer for general maintenance they could not help me. In fact had I done normal maintenance at the dealer they would have caught or prevented this type of problem.

Any thoughts on how to pursue this with Land Rover and what sort of "preventive" maintenance they would have done to the transmission to prevent this?

Comments

Tough Luck!! They lie through their Aristocratic Teeth!!!Welcome to the land of Land Rover "Customer Service" (as only they know it!!!)To pursue their thread of logic, get them to tell you what it is (short of complete replacement of the VCU and/or Intermediate Reduction Drive every few thousand miles) that they would have done during their routine servicing to prevent the general self-destruction of the rest of the drive train.Find out that little gem, and the Freelander owning population of the world will beat a path to your door!!!!Love the car (-- pity about the transmission and the 1.8 litre petrol engine!!!!)CheersIan Hughes Tasmania

Actually after over 3 weeks in the shop they ended up replacing the catalytic converter - that seems to have resolved the problem and it drives fine. Like you I am worried about what happens when the warranty is up - great vehicle but too many problems

I also own a Freelander 2002 SE experiencing the same problem, the transmission died few days ago. I never imagined that this model would suck in that incredible way, now I am concerned about what other issues I will have to deal with in the future. My Freelander has 46k miles and the warranty expired back in May 2006.

I purchased a 02' Freelander back in April 2004 in New York. The car had 31,000 when I purchased the vehicle. I keep up with the service as well as oil changes. In June of 06' my truck would not go pass 40mph.... It has 70,000 miles now. I got it towed to the Land Rover Dealership and they advised of the car flashing signals for problems with the transmission an it will cost 7k to fix. In Dec 05' the replaced the VCU twice. After I brought the car in for service the service engine light came on... they repaired it for free.

I am just at a lost for words I've been w/o my car for seven months now(car note and insurance being paid monthly) I need some help where should I turn for assistance?

Please email me at landrover_lawsuit@hotmail.com if you would like to participate in a class action lawsuit against Land Rover. Pass the word on as much as you can. The more people, the stronger the case. Thanks, Bridget :sick:

I would like to find out the criteria for joining the class action lawsuit. I have a 2002 Freelander that has had a new engine replaced and is in the shop every month or so with systemic problems relating to the engine.

just bought a new freelander 2 paid 57,500 Euros have it six weeks in the garage after 1 week with a leak in the windscreen back in the garage last wek to have the windscreen replaced back in the garage again with a transmission and computer problem what the hell am i after buying??????????????????????? being a brandnew car what are my legal entitlements.P.S we have this car for my daughter who has a terminal illness and we need to be able to get to the hospital within a certain time frame please help......

You will have nothing but problems. Best take it back to whoever sold it to you and try to get your money back. Ours just died last night with a Tranny issue. Get rid of it now and buy a quality vehicle

I just repaired a 2002 Freelander with "F" & "4" flashing alternately on the PRND2L indicator. My customer was told by the local LandRover dealer that the trans needed to be replaced. The vehicle did not need a transmission. If computer diagnosis indicates a P1748 code, then the 2/4 brake solonoid on the valve body must be replaced. It's a good idea to replace the 2/4 Brake timing solonoid as well. The retail $ for both from your local LandRover dealer should be: $191.91. A local transmission shop should be able to replace the solonoids for 2 hours of labor...

Wow! My '02 Freelander SE just started flashing "F" and "4" on the gear indicator this morning! I'll go to Land Rover first (gotta see how much $$$ they want!!) and will ask what diagnostic code comes up. Then I'll take it from there. Excuse my ignorance, (I'm not a mechanic!) but the two parts needed would be the 2/4 brake solonoid on the valve body and the 2/4 brake timing solonoid, available from the dealer, right? Are the solonoids parts of the braking system or the transmission system? Sorry for the basic questions!

:mad: I dont even know where to start with my Freelander '02 SE. its in the shop it seems every couple of months. i have 70,000 miles on it and the car started flashing F-4 and the hill decent control light went on. then the check engine. i took it in, they fixed some bolts in the rear axle and i payed 820 for that and then they said the trans needed to be replaced. for $5,035! in the past 8 months i have already spent 5G's on it. i asked how much they would give me for a trade-in - 1,000-2,000. they are nuts. im starting to hate landrover.

Just got the call from my dealer, my '02 Freelander needs a new transmission; $3900. No warning, no noise - just cruising down the highway (70mph, cruise control), transmission went to downshift and nothing - just neutral. No forward gears, no reverse.This is outrageous: 4 years old (+3 months) 65K miles.I see lots of other postings about problems with transmissions. Anyone getting any help from corporate Land Rover?

Your transmission most likely does not need replaced. There are 2 solonoids on th evalve body that may need replaced. They're the 2-4 Brake and 2-4 Timing. The cost of the parts is ~$200 plus the labor to pull the cover exposing the valve body. You'll probably have to take it somewhere other than your dealer as they typically don't "repair" transmissions, just replace, that's why it's so expensive. Good luck.

The solonoids are part of the Valve Body located inside the transmission. The valve body controlls all shifting of your transmission by alterating the flow of the fluid through various channels. Yes, the solonoids are Dealer parts. The culprit is most likely the 2-4 brake solonoid which has been on back order for sometime.

I also have 2002 Freelander and I have transmission problem too. It has only 66K miles and very beautiful car (it is HSE) but I can not fix it, it is too expensive. What are the options for people like me, I can not sell it either. Has anyone heard if landrover is doing something about this? Thank you.

Did you get your freelander checked out at a landrover dealership? If so, I would get a second opinion from a private owned transmission shop - after I researched a lot about these transmission problems and saw these posts here I thought it might pay off to get a second opinion...and I AM SO GLAD I DID. My landrover place gave me a quote of $5,035 because they said I needed a NEW TRANSMISSION. And I did not want to pay that much, for I had already spent 5G's in the past 8 months on other repairs. They gave me a trade-in price of $1,000-2,000 - I was outraged!! My car is an SE, with a lot of other additions on it, and worth A LOT more than that, even with the transmission gone and 70,000 miles on it - So, I went to this transmission shop I had heard from through a friend and they said my car DID NOT need a new transmission but that the solonoids needed to be replaced - the total cost including labor: $800. And it runs BEAUTIFULLY now. If I didnt have such a busy schedule I would seriously think about sueing LandRover - they are horrible people :mad: . Good Luck with your car!

Unfortunately it is not a do it yourself repair. The transmission pan must be removed and there are 2 solonoids to be replaced. The biggest problem is that one of the solonoids (don;t remember which, but you can look at my earlier post) has been on back orderfrom LR for several months. That means you'll need to replace the entire valve body assembly. That's where it gets very tricky in that it must be reassembled with springs placed EXACTLY right on the top of the valve body during the reinstallation. The ~$800 you'll pay for a professional to do it is far better than the ~$5,000 for a new trans...

You can't change the solonoid by yourself, many things need to be taken off the car in order to change them and supposedly it is a very tricky job to do. One of the parts was actually recalled and so everyone who got their solonoids changed has to go get them replaced once again....they were recalled when my car was in the shop, so it took a week longer but at least I got the new parts...I think this is why there is such a long wait through the LR Dealer...but if you go through a privately owned trans shop, they can get the part faster. It was 800 dollars with labor and the parts were less expensive than LR...I will never get my car fixed at LR ever again.

My wife's Freelander had a post warranty transmission failure. I did make the discovery that the transmissions are from the Mazda Quest van and are de-tuned (Shift softer) because its a "luxury truck". ANyway, does anyone know of a current class action suit on the Freelander transmissions?

To add to the previous comments, the first failure mode of the transmission was F4 flashing.

Do you mean Nissan Quest? I seriously doubt it is the same transmission because the ones on the Quest\Villager are very reliable, and judging by these forums, the ones on the Freelander are anything but.

Hello. I have a 2002 Freelander with 63K miles on it, and the transmission was slipping all over the place. I brought it to 2 different Land Rover dealers, 1 private auto shop and 1 transmission expert and all 4 told me that the transmission needs to be rebuilt.

I was able to get a good deal on this repair, but my concern is the future. I don't know if I should sell it after it's fixed, or try to get another 3 years or so out of it. If someone can advise as to what might work best, that would be great. Thanks!

My daughter and Son-in-law own a 2002 Freelander and the transmission just went on their's, as everyone has said to replace it is going to cost around $5k, they don't have that kind of money, they can't sell it because they won't get what they owe on it. I am going to e-mail the person about the lawsuit, does anyone know if that is going any where.